[legendsport]

On a Southern Pacific train somewhere in Arizona, April 7, 1917:

As Rufus and Alice Barrell rode the rails to get back to Georgia as soon as possible, Rufus reflected on the events of the previous day. In the hub-bub following the news that the U.S. was now in the war, Rufus had nearly forgotten about the telegram he'd been handed. Alice, as usual, had come to the rescue, pointing to the envelope in his hand and asking, "Well, aren't you going to read that?"

The telegram was from their son Rollie. Apparently - and not surprisingly - Jimmy had disappeared. With a sinking feeling, both the Barrells realized this meant he had gone to join the Army. While he was not yet 17, and therefore technically not able to enlist, Jimmy Barrell always found a way to get around the rules. Besides, he'd be 17 in June - so there were two goals: first, stop him now and then second, convince him not to just go ahead and enlist anyway in two months. But first they needed to cross the entire country - and that took days; days they didn't have. So both Rufus and Alice were glum as they watched the monotonous desert scenery as their train passed through Arizona.

"We can't really stop him," Rufus said as he stared out the window.

Alice, her mouth set in a grim line, replied, "We'll see about that. Even if he does enlist before we're home, it'll be illegal and come hell or high-water I'll get it undone."

Normally Rufus wouldn't doubt her. But, honestly in his heart... he was proud of Jimmy and half-hoped they wouldn't be able to stop him. Rufus' own father had been conscripted by the Confederacy, and made a part of General Hardee's forces that faced Sherman at Lovejoy's Station - a token force outnumbered almost five-to-one. 16-year-old John Barrell had surrendered, too scared to shoot at the bluecoated Union soldiers when they found him in a barn south of the Station. Rufus had seen a photo of his father, in the butternut of the Confederate Army, among his mother's things before he left home. That picture, like so much else, had been lost in the 1908 fire. Now his son was rushing off to put on a khaki uniform so he could go shoot Germans in France or Belgium - or get shot himself. To say Rufus was conflicted would be an understatement. But he couldn't say any of that to his wife. She was a fiercely protective mother - more wolf than woman in that way and he didn't want to be savaged by her temper.

"You're awfully quiet," she said, snapping him out of his reverie.

He looked at her and gave a sheepish half-smile. "Just thinking, is all. This war is going to turn everything upside down."

Alice narrowed her eyes and said, "Not if I have anything to say about it."


Atlanta, GA - the same day:

"You sure you're 17?"

Jimmy Barrell tried to look scornful (he'd seen his mother do it often enough) as he replied, "Of course! I wouldn't be here otherwise, now would I?"

The recruiting sergeant scowled. Jimmy wasn't overly impressed with the man - he was overweight and the buttons of his khaki tunic strained to hold his girth. He certainly didn't look like a soldier. Maybe the United States Army needed him more than he realized, he thought.

"You look awful green, boy," the sergeant said.

Jimmy just stood there, glaring back.

With a sigh and a shrug of his shoulders the sergeant said, "Well, there is a war on and I reckon we can't be too picky." He peered again at the (doctored) birth certificate Jimmy had handed him. Jimmy had turned "June" into "January" and hoped it was convincing enough. Shaking his head, the sergeant grabbed a form off his desk and passed it across. "Fill this out."

Jimmy grinned and took up the pen.


Egypt, GA - the same day:

"I'll find him, and when I do, I'm going to kick his tail."

Rollie had seen Joe angry plenty of times, but this one took the cake. With a very pregnant Edna sitting beside him, the eldest Barrell brother had driven his jalopy out to the farm to check on his siblings. When Rollie told him that Jimmy had disappeared, Joe had thrown a fit - they all knew where he'd gone. Danny, who'd been pitching baseballs against the barn, had come over, seen Joe's face and headed right back out to the barn where Fred & Tom were laughing while watching Bobby & Harry try to teach the dog, Ol' Blue, to fetch a stick. "I think Joe's gonna kill Jimmy," Danny told Fred. Fred shrugged and said, "Jimmy deserves it. Wait til Ma gets back - she'll really kill him."

Joe peered out at his younger brothers and asked Rollie, "Were we that rambunctious when we were small?"

Before Rollie could reply, Joe said, "Don't answer that... I know we were worse." Then he turned to his wife and asked, "Are you going to be okay on the ride to Atlanta? It'll be pretty bumpy and... well, I'm going to be driving like a bat out of hell."

Rollie put up a hand, "Maybe Edna should wait here with us. I know Betsy would love to see her - too many boys around here, you know."

Edna agreed to stay at the farm and Joe sped off to Atlanta, driving far more recklessly than he should have, considering he was about to become a father.

Joe knew exactly where the recruitment office was and went there directly. When he entered, he found an overweight sergeant who sized him up and said, "My, you're a strapping fellow." He picked up a form and asked, "Here to go to work for your Uncle Sam?"

Joe held up a hand, "Save it, bub. I'm looking for my brother."

The sergeant frowned and said, "I don't recall seeing anyone who looks like you around here today."

Joe rolled his eyes - where boxing and football had carved him an impressive physique, Jimmy was slight. Joe also favored Rufus while Jimmy looked like Alice. "Yeah, well trust me when I say I have a big family and we're not all identical."

Joe described his brother: "Blond hair, blue eyes, about 5'10 and thin. Kind of struck-up... a know-it-all type, to be honest. Name's Barrell - James Barrell."

Now he saw recognition in the sergeant's eyes. But the recruiter frowned and said, "I'm not supposed to give out information about my recruits to any Tom, Dick or Harry who comes in here."

"Well, I'm a Joe, my brother is underage and believe me, you'd rather deal with me than with my mother, who will be coming to see you if I don't find my idiot brother post-haste."

"Underage, you say?"

"That's right."

The sergeant chewed his lip and then grabbed a stack of papers on his desk and began flipping through them. "I do have a James T. Barrell, but it says here that he's 17."

Joe rolled his eyes. "He lied, friend. I suppose he doctored up his birth certificate - he doesn't turn 17 until June."

"I can only go by the documents I'm shown - and his birth certificate clearly showed a date of birth of January 11, 1900. That makes him 17."

Joe balled his hands into fists. "Listen, buster - I'm his brother and I'm telling you that he's underage. Now are you going to do anything about that?"

The sergeant shrugged and said, "As far as the United States Army is concerned, he's 17 and," he grinned, "now he belongs to Uncle Sam."